Fleet Management

FMCSA Clarifies Issuance of Commercial Learner’s Permits

Guidance just issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Administration clarifies that a state may accept applications for commercial learner’s permits and administer the general knowledge test to individuals who are not domiciled there.

Per the agency’s notice published in the Federal Register for Aug. 3, the guidance was issued to clarify that FMSCA had not meant to limit the extending of this out-of-state consideration to applicants who had served in the military.

Based on the new guidance, states that choose to administer the general knowledge test must transmit the test results “directly, securely, and electronically” to the applicant’s state of domicile and that state must agree to accept the test results and issue the commercial learner’s permit.

The agency stated that while “the guidance is in answer to general knowledge testing as addressed in FMCSA regulations, we note that this regulatory guidance is consistent with the agency’s October 13, 2016, final rule, which amended the CDL regulations to ease the transition of military personnel into civilian careers driving commercial motor vehicles.”